The National Intelligence Service said on the 22nd in a briefing to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on pending issues that it estimates the number of Koreans involved in scam crimes in Cambodia could reach up to 2,000. It also emphasized that, on President Lee Jae-myung's order, it is mobilizing all intelligence and investigative capabilities to respond.
The National Intelligence Service reported to the Intelligence Committee that "the president views the ongoing scam crimes in Cambodia as very serious and issued a special order to the NIS to resolve international crime, drugs, labor export, cybercrime, illegal cryptocurrency, and scam crimes decisively until they are eradicated at the roots, putting the organization's life on the line, to ease public concerns."
The National Intelligence Service also reported, "Scam-crime compounds in Cambodia number about 50, including in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville, and the number of people engaged in these crimes is estimated at about 200,000," adding, "There are areas controlled by armed non-government groups possessing weapons, and economic zones are scattered, making it difficult for the Cambodian government to crack down and causing considerable disruption to international cooperation," according to Park Seon-won, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who serves as the ruling party secretary on the Intelligence Committee.
The National Intelligence Service emphasized, "Criminal organizations are pocketing crime revenue equivalent to about $12.5 billion—about half of Cambodia's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023—indicating both the scale and the pervasiveness of crime," and added, "To evade crackdowns by authorities, they are even deploying armed guards and luring our citizens to the area. This is a serious crime, and those entangled as victims could even lose their lives."
On the scale of Korean involvement, it said, "Considering the number of our citizens visiting locally and usage at Korean restaurants near scam compounds, we estimate about 1,000 to 2,000 people are involved in the crimes," adding, "Of the 3,075 scam-crime suspects apprehended by Cambodian police in June–July, 57 were Korean."
Lee Seong-gwon, the opposition party secretary on the Intelligence Committee, said, "When various incidents such as deaths of our nationals in Cambodia, kidnappings, torture, and confinement came to light, the word 'victim' was used frequently, but based on today's NIS explanation, while not 100%, it seems more accurate to view them as suspects who took part in the crimes."
Lee also said, "The NIS obtained information three days after the university student's death and identified the ringleader in eight days," adding, "The ringleader was confirmed to be the mastermind of the 2023 drug case in the Gangnam private education district and an accomplice of a person surnamed Lee, who was arrested in Cambodia with NIS intelligence support."
According to the briefing that day, the NIS, following the president's order, dispatched a rapid response team to Cambodia on the 13th and is maintaining close cooperation with local investigative authorities. As future response measures, Park said, it announced plans including: ▲ strengthening international cooperation through multilateral platforms of Asia-Pacific intelligence agencies such as the Asia Counter-Terrorism Information Coordination Group and the Asia Narcotics Information Coordination Group ▲ preparing for the movement of criminal organizations to neighboring countries due to concentrated crackdowns in Cambodia ▲ expanding cooperation with intelligence agencies of major countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and Australia. In addition, it said measures will be taken in parallel to prevent repatriated Korean scam-crime offenders from leaving the country again after returning home, including passport invalidation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exit bans by the Ministry of Justice, and Interpol red notices by the Korean National Police Agency.
Meanwhile, trends in North Korea were briefly reported at the Intelligence Committee that day. In response to a lawmaker's question about the significance of the North Korean military parade held on the 10th, the NIS offered the assessment that "a large number of high-level figures from Russia, China, and Vietnam participated, and such a case is the first in decades," and "internally, it can appeal domestically that North Korea's Kim Jong Un stands shoulder to shoulder with leaders of the international community and has an international stature, and that because there are countries with friendly relations, imposing many sanctions internationally is meaningless," Lee said.
Regarding North Korea's short-range ballistic missile launch that day, the NIS explained, according to Park, "With APEC ahead, we do not need to pay too much attention to North Korea's attempt to draw attention. There is no need to overreact," adding, "However, we are faithfully carrying out our inherent duties, including joint analysis of ballistic missiles."